Hello, this is my first discussion, sorry if i posted it in the wrong forum.
I was born in the US (specifically Virginia) and declared a US citizen, my parents were in the US for education purposes with F1 visas, but since my parents weren’t required to pay taxes since they weren’t us citizens I’m not sure that if i was declared a Virginia resident, we returned to our home country(i was still a child) as soon as my dad completed his master’s , fast forward to today, i am 18 and came to California for college, i have a CA ID and license, paying rent, registered to vote in California, and declared an independent student, i haven’t started filing taxes since i haven’t found a job and paying my necessities with savings i had, but the college sees me as an out of state student, and told me i have to wait for a year to check again, and its really hard for me to pay out-of-state tuition, what should i do?
Have you looked at other in-state schools that say otherwise?
You will be an out-of-state student until you meet the qualifications for California residency. Your US citizenship is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter whether you moved to California from Virginia or Yemen. You had no residential history in California, so there really isn’t anything to “do” or appeal. Get a job, stay in school if you can, and check back with the college in a year.
I had this issue when I was 18. My dad retired military had not changed his home of record to CA from ILL. As an 18 year old I had job, filed taxes in CA, registered to vote in CA, had a CA DL and was born in CA. I had to legally claim residence as an adult to get residence status. I would think having a job in and paying taxes to the state you attend college to you would be able to claim residency.
You say yourself you moved to Cali to go to college and as such you should be an OOS student for all of college. I think Cali is one of the most strict states, right? The chances are you will not get state resident tuition for any of your period at university.
I think @auntbea will know, Alfonsia. (She’s from CA, I think). It does seem like I’ve read that if you go to CA specifically to attend college, you pay OOS rates for all 4 years. I hope auntbea sees this and comments, but in the meantime, OP, you can check the college website for state residency requirements and see what they have to say.
It’s pretty safe to say that a student who moves out to CA for school from another state will be paying OOS rates for 4 years.
He’s independent. He’ll be able to establish residency for tuition purposes (he’s a resident for most other purposes - voting, car registration, employment already as all that takes is moving to the state) when/if he completes the requirements. Look at what the requirements are (job, insurance, car registration, license, ID, mortgage/lease) and tick them off. The school said it would look at your application again in a year. Just make sure you do all the things that are required. DON’T pay for rent in cash, or get a receipt. Put the electricity into your name, not your roommate’s.
However, if you are 18, how are you an independent student? There are certain requirements for that too. If you are just stating that you live on your own, you aren’t independent for instate tuition purposes or for financial aid purposes. Make sure you meet the requirements for those too if you are planning on that status to finance your education.
ypu might be independent in thwt you are providing your own support, but that does not mean you are independent for tuition residency purposes OR for financial aid purposes.
Simply being 18, and living on your own does not make you independent for residency purposes.
What makes you “independent” other than your parents living elsewhere?
Thank you for your replies, I have applied for financial aid as an independant ( my parents were required to sign a paper saying that I am independant now, everything I do now is by my name (bills, rent, etc) , I will start filling taxes as soon as I find a job, I came at summer time so i think I’ll try again when the spring semester finishes, thing is I’m moving to another county for a better college.
Yemen…all that means is that you will get additional Direct Loans.
Thumper1, then what else does make me independent, please tell me what to do, I am new here so please give me advise, thank you
If the parents sign indicating that they will be providing no support, and will not provide any financial assistance…and won’t be claiming the student on their taxes (I know this isn’t an issue for you), then the student can get an additional $4000 in Direct Loans.
This is the amount allocated for independent undergrad students.
It does not grant you instate residency…at all. That is determined by the residency policy of your state and college.
You could have independent status and get this extra loan money. But you easily could still not be a resident of California.
What college are you attending? Have you checked their policy for granting instate residency for tuition purposes?
You really should have done some homework, if you are a decent student you could have got great merit at non cali schools, and researched states with easier access to in state rates access for OOS kids, which schools are you accepted at? What other states did you apply to? Are your stats good?
Probably your best bet right now would be to finish up this year, get a full-time job, relocate to an affordable area, and work for a year or two. Then when you meet the requirements for state residency, start taking classes again.
It is challenging to establish residency on your own without your parents. Make certain that you follow the policies required by the state where you are living.
Thank you for the advice , I am currently attending community college.
Yemen, sometimes community colleges in states are more “forgiving” in terms of residency requirements than four year public colleges in the same state. Go and talk to the transfer advisor at your community college. He or she should be able to advise you at least a little.
It is possible that you could have instate status at the community college level, but then NOT be granted this at the four year public to which you transfer.
California is very stringent about the residency requirements for tuition purposes. Right now…I don’t think you meet them…at all. And living in CA while attending college usually does not fulfill the residency requirement unless your parents happen to move to CA as well.
So…you could continue to have those extra Direct Loan amounts…but you could very well be expected to pay OOS tuition once you transfer to the four year public…and really, how will you pay for THAT? It will be at least $23,000 (differential between in and out of state tuition) plus the student contribution.
@thumper1, my parents are living over seas, and if they are ever to come to the US/calif, its only to visit me for a short time, i will start working this year (as soon as i find a job) and start filling taxes (my intention all along), i truly do want to make California my permanent home home even after education, so what else would stop me from being an instate.
Yemen…you are an undergrad. The vast majority of undergrads have are considered residents of the place where their parents reside. There are very specific criteria for becoming an instate resident…and simply living here is not one of them. And establishing residency concurrent with attending college is not usually allowed.
Think if it…if just living in CA, and having your parents sign a for saying they will not support you or complete a FAFSA (which is how you get hose extra loans), then almost all students would do this…and be considered instate for CA. It’s just not how it works.
You need to talk to the transfer advisor at your community college about this.
In the very vast majority of cases, residence for undergrads is detemined by the place of residence of their parents, unless you are emancipated…which you are not. In the vast majority of cases, one must establish residency in a state at least twelve months PRIOR to enrolling in college…not while you are in college.
At this point, you are not a resident of California for tuition purposes. In my opinion, you have an uphill battle to gain this status. But that is my opinion.
I agree with others upstream who say…you should have looked into this BEFORE you enrolled in college.
It is rather difficult to become a California resident in most cases for undergraduates.
http://registrar.berkeley.edu/residency.html
http://admissions.calpoly.edu/applicants/mycalpoly/resinfo.html
http://www.smc.edu/EnrollmentDevelopment/Admissions/Pages/Residency-Requirements.aspx